Release Day and Review: The Matchmaker’s Replacement by Rachel Van Dyken

THE MATCHMAKER’S REPLACEMENT

by

RACHEL VAN DYKEN

– SYNOPSIS –

Wingman rule number two: never reveal how much you want them.

Lex hates Gabi. Gabi hates Lex. But, hey, at least the hate is mutual, right? All Lex has to do is survive the next few weeks training Gabi in all the ways of Wingmen Inc. and then he can be done with her. But now that they have to work together, the sexual tension and fighting is off the charts. He isn’t sure if he wants to strangle her or throw her against the nearest sturdy table and have his way with her.

But Gabi has a secret, something she’s keeping from not just her best friend but her nemesis too. Lines are blurred as Lex becomes less the villain she’s always painted him to be…and starts turning into something more. Gabi has always hated the way she’s been just a little bit attracted to him—no computer-science major should have that nice of a body or look that good in glasses—but “Lex Luthor” is an evil womanizer. He’s dangerous. Gabi should stay far, far away.

Then again, she’s always wanted a little danger.

– EXCERPT –

“So,” a familiar voice said above the music. “New job?”

Damn it! “I didn’t even say your name three times!” I whined, turning around to face Lex. He was wearing a tight vintage black T-shirt with low-slung jeans on his hips and the ever-present sex-oozing smile.

“Three times?” He smiled wider. “You said my name three times out loud? Is it your new curse word? You know, like ‘Oh, Lex! Good Lex! Mighty Lex . . .’” His eyebrows drew together. “Somehow all of those sound like very familiar noises women make in my presence.”

“Die, Lex,” I said in an annoyed tone. “How about that one?”

“That’s new.” He snapped his fingers. “But it’s growing on me. Maybe it’s the way you say it, like you want me to die in your arms all Romeo and Juliet style . . .”

“Wow, ten at night and you’re already wasted.” I slapped him on the shoulder. “Take a cab.” I tried to move past him, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, pressing us together. Whether it was on purpose or not I wasn’t sure, but he was warm.

And he felt . . . safe, familiar. My body was playing tricks on me; it was because I was vulnerable.

Like that night when . . .

I locked down my memories, especially that one, and threw away the key. “Lex, what do you want?”

“You,” he said in a serious tone. “Now get up on stage and take off your clothes. I paid for a show.”

I rolled my eyes. “Waitress, Lex. You’ll have to call one of the many numbers on your phone to get a free lap dance.”

“What if I pay?” His breath tickled my ear as my eyes burned with unshed tears. Normally, I wouldn’t let what he did affect me. Normally, I brushed him off, but my armor had already been stripped. Call it exhaustion or maybe just the last remnants of pride I had toppling to the floor.

But I couldn’t hold them in any longer.

One tear fell.

Then another.

I tried to wipe them, tried to jerk free from Lex’s strong arms, but he turned me so abruptly that all I managed to do was soak the front of his shirt with my tears and smear it with mascara.

“No.” Panic surged through me as I tried to pull away. “You don’t understand!” I’d given the last of my paychecks to my mom so she could pay the bills at the house, leaving me completely broke for this week’s rent check. I was hoping to make enough money in tips for the rent.

Lex’s eyes crinkled at the sides as he took one look at me and the rest of the seedy bar. I knew what he saw: girls dancing on poles, guys getting drunk and shouting at the girls while they threw dollar bills onto the stage, and a scared, stupid girl clinging to him like her lifeline.

Finally, he released me. “Gabs, I’m sorry, I was joking. We always—” He licked his lips and glanced down at the filthy floor, cursing. “Where’s the money going?”

“Money?”

“New girl!” Dean, my boss, never called me by name, the idiot. “You working or flirting? If he wants time with you, he’s gotta pay.”

“Still a waitress?” Lex’s eyebrows shot up.

I held up my fingers to indicate I needed a few more seconds, but Dean was apparently in a mood and stomped over to us.

“Problem?” he asked, crossing his arms over his skinny chest. The guy was small; Lex could probably break his face blindfolded.

“Yeah,” Lex said, surprising me. “Your waitress just refused to dance with me because you guys are out of private rooms . . . so.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed. “You her boyfriend?”

“Do I look like a man who wants to commit to crazy?” Lex fired back. “But I do have this . . .” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out what looked like at least six hundred dollars in cash. “How long will that get me with your waitress?”

Dean’s eyebrows kissed his hairline as he sputtered out, “At least three hours.”

“I’ll add in another six hundred if I can have table service and a private room, no interruptions.”

“Done.” Dean snapped his fingers above his head as one of his security guards came barreling over. “Please take them to the Diamond Room, no interruptions. Stand outside the door. One waitress goes in and out to provide drinks.”

The security guard nodded.

And five minutes later I was stuck in a personal nightmare. A bottle of champagne rested on ice; two glasses were left on the table. Music pumped through the speaker system. A small stage was set up in the middle of the room, with two poles and some sort of swing that dropped down from the ceiling. I seriously didn’t even want to know what it was for.

“That will be all,” Lex said in a gruff tone. The waitress—I think her name was Holly—bobbed her head, then looked at me out of the corners of her eyes as if scared to leave me alone with the giant.

“It’s fine.” I waved her off and forced a smile.

The door closed.

“Stop pacing.” Lex grabbed a bottle of champagne. “And that ass better give you part of that money . . .”

“Huh?” I turned. Lex had his feet up on the table and was texting. TEXTING!

He glanced up. “What? Something wrong?”

“Uh . . .” I lifted my arms into the air. “You sick bastard, you just paid for private dancing! From me!”

“No I didn’t,” he said calmly. “Nobody knows what goes on in here. Take a nap for all I care, drink some champagne—or you can shock the hell out of me and cry again, but fair warning, I only had one hug in me tonight and you stole it, so . . . I’ll be reverting to the back pat.”

“Who are you?”

“Lex Luthor, philanthropist by day and rescuer of hot waitresses by night.” He smirked and held up the bottle. “Champagne?”

“Unbelievable.” I choked out a laugh. “You just paid over one grand to sit in a crappy club and drink champagne with someone you hate.”

“It’s my good deed for the decade. Just don’t tell Ian. He’ll think I’m sick or something, and the last thing I need is Mother Hen helicoptering around my inner sanctum. He’ll get pissed all over again if he finds out that I’m hacking.”

My skin felt sticky and sweaty, and my feet ached. With slow movements, I made my way over to the couch and sat, not even wanting to know how many germs were on the leather.

“So,” Lex said above the music. “Champagne? Or want me to order you something else?”

“Champagne’s good.” I swallowed and looked down at my hands. “I’m sorry I cried.”

“As you should be. Big girls don’t cry . . . they kick ass. Don’t freak me out like that again, it’s not good for my heart.”

“Damn, I love it when you swear,” Lex murmured, taking a long draw of champagne. “See, at least you do that right.”

“I can’t last in here for three hours,” I muttered, jumping to my feet and starting my pacing all over again.

“Want to play games on my cell phone?”

“Like a child!” I blurted. “That’s it! You’re treating me like I’m . . . a toddler! Like I should be thankful you just saved me from hell. Be honest: if you had a sticker and a sucker, would you give them to me if I shut my mouth the entire time?”

Lex gave me a guilty look.

“I’m a woman!”

“Well, if you were a dude, we’d be having a different conversation and you probably would have punched the guys grabbing your ass earlier . . .”

Without thinking, I grabbed my glass of champagne, chugged it, poured another, chugged that one, then with shaky hands grabbed the little remote, turned up the music, and jumped on stage.

I expected Lex to say something inappropriate or at least roll his eyes. Instead, he looked . . . panicked.

“Gabs!” he yelled above the music. “Look, I’m sorry! Just get down!!”

“Oh, I’ll get down!” I grabbed the pole with one hand and leaned back. “Just wait.”

– REVIEW –

“Okay, point me to the Fortress of Solitude , and I’ll try not to sweat estrogen everywhere.”

“Upstairs. And Gabs, I really mean it when I say . . . If you ever leave a tampon in my room, I will cut you.”

The Matchmaker’s Replacement

Kindle Loc 2229 of 4205

Let’s get to it — The Matchmaker’s Replacement (Rachel Van Dyken’s sequel to her wildly successful The Matchmaker’s Handbook) had me laughing (and snorting) out loud.

The Matchmaker’s Replacement is the story of the relationship between Wingmen co-founder and resident genius/hottie, Lex Luthor, and his childhood friend (and heart’s desire) Gabi Sava.

When Lex, along with his roommate Ian founded Wingmen, Inc., their purpose was to provide their female clientele with a customized plan of instruction and technique guaranteed to land any woman the man of her dreams. Word of Wingmen’s success has spread, and now Ian and Lex are faced will male clientele. With Ian out of the picture, (having hooked up with Gabi’s roommate, Blake), Lex needs to bring in not only another partner, but one that’s female. Enter Gabi.

Now Gabi, Ian and Lex go back as childhood friends. Ian has always been protective of Gabi — he thinks of her as his little sister, and in big brotherly fashion lays down the law to Lex very early on that Gabi is not become another notch on Lex’s bedpost. (See where this is going?)

Fast forward to present time and Lex has begun tutoring the virgin (yes! virgin) Gabi on all sorts of Wingmen technique — from kissing to wardrobe. Lusty Lex can barely contain his desire for Gabi and tosses sarcasm and smack to hide his feelings for her. Feisty Gabi is in the same boat — she’s always held back on her desire for Lex and dishes equally delicious snark right back at him. This leads to some of the most clever, witty exchanges this reader has encountered written romantic comedy. The dialogue and interaction between these two is worth of any five star rom-com. (Don’t even get me started on the hilarity of the tampon vs condom war.)

Author Van Dyken is a master at not only the witty repartee, but knows how to deliver sizzle with a side of slow-burn. Both Lex and Gabi are solidly written. The secondary characters are equally well written, and move the story along without being filler. While the friends/enemies/lovers trope is a popular theme, Rachel Van Dyken takes it to another level in The Matchmaker’s Replacement. Van Dyken’s courtship between Lex and Gabi is a brilliantly choreographed dance of dialogue, and it’s both mesmerizing and satisfying. (I could not put this book down – a one-sitting read.) Straight through to its conclusion (and epilogue), Van Dyken never drops the ball regarding the level of writing or the pace of the story. Brava!

Refreshing funny, original, and a most satisfying read, The Matchmaker’s Replacement is that rare find — a sequel that surpasses the original.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

– GIVEAWAY –

– BUY THE BOOK –

– NOW AVAILABLE on KINDLE in MOTION –

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– ABOUT THE AUTHOR –

RACHEL VAN DYKEN

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!